Skyblazer

Skyblazer[lower-alpha 1] is a platform video game published by Sony Imagesoft, released in early 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It involves Sky, the Skyblazer hero (Garuda in the Japanese version) searching for Ashura, the Lord of War, who had kidnapped the sorceress Ariana (Vishnu in the Japanese version).

For other uses, see Skyblazer (disambiguation).
Skyblazer
Developer(s)Ukiyotei
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Hiroshi Gotō
Designer(s)Kenshi Naruse
Programmer(s)Norihiro Tokeshi
Tadakatsu Makiuchi
Artist(s)Michiyo Komura
Midori Nasu
Sadaki Matsumoto
Composer(s)Harumi Fujita
Platform(s)Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot.

There are a total of 17 levels with a few more stops on the map where the elder (Brahma in the Japanese version) gives passwords to the player and ten bosses including the final boss, Raglan (Ravana in the Japanese version). Four of those must be fought twice, since they reappear immediately before Ashura, who appears before Raglan. An overhead map allows for movement between levels, including back to ones already completed, and its slight non-linearity allows the player to skip some levels (at the cost of the magic spells and other powerups obtainable in them).

Most of the levels are side-scrolling, but there are some levels involving flight, either automatically scrolling or in Mode 7, where the player can grab crystals towards extra lives but will exit the level upon touching a spike and falling. Also, some levels expand on the usual platform structure by including waterways whose paths can be varied with switches, and there are areas with rotating towers. Two of the bosses also use extensive Mode 7, expanding and rotating around the screen or coming in the form of rotating walls.

There are eight secondary attacks available beyond the basic punch and kick, but unlike those they require magic power. Magic powerups, signified by flasks of red liquid in either small or large sizes, can replenish the power needed to use these while flasks of green fluid restore health. There are gems of both small and large sizes; a large gem counts the same as 10 small ones, and obtaining 100 gems will give a player an extra life. There are also outright 1-ups.

Development and release

Blood from the Japanese release was re-colored green for the Western releases.[2]

Reception

GamePro lauded Skyblazer as "a great mix of side-scrolling action, puzzle solving, special powers, and tactics." They praised the high challenge, mythological setting, simple controls, and "inventive uses of Mode 7."[26] Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the game a 7.8 out of 10, with reviewer Mike Weigand praising the challenge, graphics, and control.[5] French magazine Joypad gave it 93%.[10]

Notes
  1. Also known as Karuraou (Japanese: 迦楼羅王(カルラオウ), Hepburn: Karuraō, lit. "King Garuda") in Japan.

References
  1. "Super NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  2. "Karuraou Review". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  3. "Review: Skyblazer - Magischen Klettermaxe". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). No. 90. Tronic Verlag. August 1994. p. 51.
  4. Homsy, Richard Homsy; Huyghues-Lacour, Alain (April 1994). "Super Nintendo Review - Skyblazer". Consoles + (in French). No. 31. M.E.R.7. pp. 102–104. Archived from the original on 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  5. Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken; Weigand, Mike (January 1994). "Review Crew - Major Mike's Game Roundup - Sky Blazer". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 54. Sendai Publishing. p. 44. Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  6. Lundrigan, Jeff (February 1994). "Review - Skyblazer". Game Players. No. 56. Signal Research. pp. 46–47.
  7. Herranz, Sonia (April 1994). "Lo Más Nuevo: Senderos De Magia - Skyblazer". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 31. Hobby Press. pp. 72–75.
  8. Humphreys, Andrew (February 1994). "Skyblazer". Hyper. No. 3. pp. 40–41. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  9. Masao (29 September 2014). "Test de Skyblazer sur SNES par jeuxvideo.com". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  10. Morisse, Jean-François (April 1994). "Lutte À Mort Entre Ciel Et Terre! (Version Française) - Skyblazer". Joypad (in French). No. 30. Yellow Media. pp. 86–89. Archived from the original on 2015-04-04. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  11. Gaksch, Martin (January 1994). "Spiele-Tests: Skyblazer". MAN!AC (in German). No. 3. Cybermedia. pp. 46–47.
  12. Stefan; Noak, Philipp (January 1994). "Test Super Nintendo: Skyblazer". Mega Fun (in German). No. 16. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. pp. 36–37.
  13. "Now Playing - Skyblazer". Nintendo Power. No. 55. Nintendo of America. December 1993. p. 103.
  14. Giordano, Patrick (April 1994). "Tests: Skyblazer". Player One (in French). No. 41. Média Système Édition. pp. 56–59. Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  15. del Carpio, José Luis (April 1994). "Rayos y Truenos - Skyblazer". Superjuegos (in Spanish). No. 24. Grupo Zeta. pp. 80–85.
  16. Karels, Ralph (January 1994). "Rom Check: Und der Himmel steht still - Skyblazer". Video Games (in German). No. 26. Future-Verlag. p. 100.
  17. Rand, Paul; Ahmet, Deniz (March 1994). "Review: Sky Blazer". Computer+Videogiochi (in Italian). No. 35. Gruppo Editoriale Jackson. pp. 90–91.
  18. Schnelle, Michael (February 1994). "Nintendo - Super Nintendo: Skyblazer". Megablast (in German). No. 4. Joker-Verlag. p. 18. Archived from the original on 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  19. Wong, Amos (February 1994). "Review: Skyblazer". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 11. Trielle Corporation. pp. 40–41.
  20. Caliméro (April 1994). "Selection - Skyblazer". Nintendo Player (in French). No. 19. Média Système Édition. pp. 24–26.
  21. Schneider, Ulf (February 1994). "Jump & Run - Skyblazer". Play Time (in German). No. 32. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. p. 120.
  22. "Review - Skyblazer". Power Unlimited (in Dutch). No. 9. VNU Media. May 1994.
  23. Del Bianco, Marco; Cardillo, Paolo (April 1994). "Review: Skyblazer". Super Console (in Italian). No. 3. Editoriale Futura. pp. 34–36.
  24. Butt, Ryan; Butt, Damian; Pullin, Keith (April 1994). "Review - Skyblazer". Super Gamer. No. 1. Paragon Publishing. pp. 42–44.
  25. Arend, Gerald (March 1994). "Test: Skyblazer". Total! (in German). No. 10. X-Plain-Verlag. pp. 22–23.
  26. Manny LaMancha (December 1993). "Super NES ProReview: Skyblazer". GamePro. No. 63. IDG. p. 138.
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